met free Chapter 477 2 Imperial Edict
Chapter 477 2 Imperial Edict
Under the "care" of Duke Xu Hongji of Wei, the Shenji Battalion, which had been severely damaged, was temporarily relocated from its camp and given to the Qionghai Army. Xu Hongji had his own ulterior motives for choosing the Shenji Battalion instead of the Chihe Battalion or the Zhenwu Battalion.
Because the Bureau of Armory was directly under the jurisdiction of the garrison eunuch, the Shenji Battalion had always maintained a closer relationship with him, while being relatively more distant from the Duke of Wei, who was in charge of the Nanjing garrison. For the Shenji Battalion commanders, a good relationship with the garrison eunuch made matters such as the allocation and maintenance of firearms much easier. Xu Hongji, out of respect for the garrison eunuch, usually kept his dissatisfaction to himself, but now that Chang Kun was in trouble, the Shenji Battalion, as "accomplices," would certainly want to give him a warning. Of course, only Xu Hongji himself knew these thoughts; no one else was aware of them.
Regardless of their actual combat strength, the Shenji Battalion had always been the pride of the Beijing Garrison, possessing the finest firearms in the Ming Dynasty and holding the highest status among all the battalions. They had never suffered such humiliation. If it were any other battalion commander, the Shenji Battalion would certainly not have given them any face. Even if the Duke of Wei himself intervened, they would likely have argued with him and demanded an explanation. But now, facing the Qionghai Army, which also used firearms but could overwhelm them, the Shenji Battalion, from top to bottom, dared not utter a single word of dissent and obediently packed up and moved out of the camp.
After settling in, the Qionghai Army was busy settling the wounded and seeking out doctors. Although busy, they were orderly, and each battalion took the opportunity to rest.
On the third day after entering the city, someone found the camp, and it turned out to be a eunuch who was delivering an imperial edict.
Yan Guang and the others thought the imperial decree of reward had arrived, so they happily set up the incense table and opened the camp gate to receive it. But the eunuch peeked around and asked, "Is Zhu Dadian in the army?"
It turned out that this was an imperial edict that had already arrived in Nanjing. After Zhu Dadian's defeat, he was taken in by Liu Ye and had been out of contact with him ever since. This eunuch couldn't find the person to deliver the edict to, and dared not return to the palace before completing his mission, so he stayed in Nanjing. When the Qionghai Army entered the city, he learned that Zhu Dadian and his defeated soldiers were in the Qionghai Army, so he came to find him.
After his defeat at Hezhou, Zhu Dadian was exhausted and had been unconscious for several days and nights. However, after witnessing his "enemies" Gao Yingxiang and Zhang Xianzhong being defeated by the Qionghai Army, his mood improved greatly, and his health gradually recovered. Now, upon hearing of the imperial edict, he rushed over and kowtowed to receive it.
The eunuch who delivered the imperial edict breathed a sigh of relief upon seeing the person in charge. He only needed to read the edict aloud before he could return to the capital. He opened the scroll and hurriedly read: "By the grace of Heaven, the Emperor decrees: Zhu Dadian, Right Vice Minister of the Ministry of War, concurrently serving as Governor-General of the Grand Canal, Military Governor, and Governor of Fengyang and other areas, and in charge of the river management, has failed in his duties in suppressing the rebels, resulting in the loss of prefectures and counties, allowing the rebels to capture Hezhou and other places, and even threaten Jiangnan. His crimes are unforgivable. He is hereby dismissed from his post, and his property is confiscated to serve as a warning to others. This is the imperial decree."
Zhu Dadian's heart sank into an abyss. He had expected to be punished, but he never imagined it would be this bad. Being dismissed from office was bad enough, but now his property was being confiscated! Was it because he had committed heinous crimes, or was the court simply short of funds to support the army?
Trembling, Zhu Dadian accepted the imperial edict and forced himself to say, "Your subject receives the edict." After the eunuch who delivered the edict left, his vision went black and he almost collapsed to the ground.
Yan Guang and others rushed forward to help him up. Liu Ye, who had arrived after hearing the news, comforted him, saying, "Lord Zhu, think positively. It's just being dismissed from office; there's still a chance for reinstatement. Besides, this imperial edict was issued before we won the battle. Now the situation is different; perhaps the emperor will rescind his order."
Zhu Dadian's mouth was full of bitterness, and he couldn't speak. It was true that the Qionghai Army had won the battle, but what did that have to do with him? The credit wouldn't be attributed to him. The emperor's words were law, and once an imperial edict was issued, it wouldn't be easily changed. He guessed that the emperor was venting all his resentment over the fall of Zhongdu and the bandits' repeated capture of prefectures and counties without anyone being able to control them on his own head. He could only accept his bad luck.
After appeasing Zhu Dadian, another eunuch came to the camp to deliver an imperial edict, specifically designating Liu Ye to receive it.
Liu Ye exclaimed "Huh?" Two imperial edicts in a row, what day is it today? Yan Guang and the others quickly urged him to accept the edict: "General, this should be an edict of reward."
Liu Ye had received an imperial edict once before and knew the procedure. Besides, the incense table was already prepared. He assumed the posture of receiving the edict while listening attentively.
The imperial edict was much longer than the previous one, rambling on and on. Liu Ye, with his decent foundation in classical Chinese, understood that it praised him for winning a battle and bringing glory to the court. When it came to the specific rewards, all he heard was "granting one of his sons the hereditary title of centurion in the Embroidered Uniform Guard," and then nothing more.
When the eunuch read out, "...So be it. Liu Ye, receive the decree," Liu Ye was certain that this was all the rewards he had received. He immediately jumped up and shouted, "Is this all the rewards the court has to offer? To bestow upon one of my sons the hereditary title of a hundred-household commander in the Embroidered Uniform Guard—what a great reward! Go back and tell the Emperor that I thank him for this reward on behalf of my unborn son!"
The eunuch delivering the imperial decree was dumbfounded. Whether it was good news or bad, all officials who received imperial decrees were always extremely respectful. This wasn't the first time he had delivered a decree, but he had never seen such a defiant attitude. For a moment, he didn't know what to do; he held the decree, unsure whether to hand it over or not.
Yan Guang and the others quickly pulled Liu Ye back and advised, "General, please calm down and talk things over." Then they took the imperial edict from him and sent the eunuch away.
After the eunuch left, Liu Ye was still furious. Pointing to the north, he said, "The way Chongzhen treated his meritorious officials will only alienate them. He is a ruler who will bring about the downfall of his country!"
Yan Guang said, "General, be careful, walls may have ears. Perhaps you shouldn't call His Majesty by his name directly? In any case, General, you are a man of great vision and lofty ambitions, and you won't care about this small reward from the court."
"So what if we call him by his name?" Liu Ye said dismissively. "Whether he cares about rewards is one thing, but how he acts is another. Since Chongzhen is so stingy, let others fight the next battle. My Qionghai Army will not contribute a single soldier."
Emperor Chongzhen was unaware that his imperial edict had angered Liu Ye. Shortly after the edict arrived in Nanjing, the situation regarding the suppression of the bandits changed again.
Although the allied forces of Gao Yingxiang and Zhang Xianzhong were defeated, Gao Yingxiang was captured alive, and Zhang Xianzhong was also severely weakened, several bandit groups fled in panic after Hong Chengchou arrived in Anhui, and the situation in the entire Anhui region was reversed. However, after Li Zicheng, Gao Yingxiang, and Zhang Xianzhong returned to Shaanxi with their troops, he demonstrated his outstanding military talent. He joined forces with nearly 200,000 rebel troops to attack Fengxiang Prefecture and advance towards Qianyang and Longzhou. Jingning, Tai'an, Qingshui, and Qinzhou were in dire need of help, and letters of appeal from Shaanxi were flying to the capital like snowflakes.
Gao Yingxiang had just submitted when Li Zicheng sprang into action again. Like trying to hold down a gourd only to have another pop up, after receiving the urgent report, the Ministry of War issued several orders, and Emperor Chongzhen also sent imperial edicts, ordering Hong Chengchou to return to Shaanxi. Hong Chengchou had no choice but to turn back to Shaanxi, sending Cao Wenzhao as vanguard with 6,000 troops ahead.